Langtang Valley Trek 8 Days

To Syabrubesi (1,467m) – about 8 hours: This morning, we drive from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi (1,467m) by bus. Leaving Kathmandu, we head north through scenic foothills and ridgeline vistas to Dhunche, the main trading post in the region, and then on to Syabru Besi. While passing beside the picturesque Trisuli River, we catch our first glimpse of Ganesh Himal (Ganesh mountain range – a sub range of the Himalayas) towering over terraces and green hills.

To Lama Hotel (2,470m) – about 5 to 6 hours: After a meal, good night’s sleep and breakfast, it’s time to begin trekking. The trail today is mostly beside the Langtang River, and passes through fir and rhododendron forests. We make several river crossings on suspension bridges. Watch out for red pandas, monkeys and bears if we are lucky.

To Langtang village (3,430m) – about 5 to 6 hours: Today we ascend via Ghore Tabela over 1000 meters, and as the altitude increases, so the vegetation becomes thinner and with fewer trees. Our destination Langtang is a typical Tibetan style village

On the third day we set the biggest challenge for ourselves: to climb up to the Kyanjin Ri viewpoint that we had seen looming over the village the previous couple of days. Several paths led towards the viewpoint, and we started very motivated. The path wound higher and higher, and got steeper and steeper. When we were there it hadn’t rained for many days and the conditions were very good, but I would not want to climb that path after rain, or even snowfall.

After a climb that seemed much longer than it actually was (and some heart-stopping moments when my daughter stood at the edge of a 100 metre drop!) we arrived at the first viewpoint. In a sea of prayer flags a couple of benches were placed–the perfect spot for a small break. The view from here was already spectacular, and the village down in the valley looked like a toy village. We could see far down the valley, and Tibet seemed only a stone’s throw away.

After a quick snack we continued along the ridge to reach the second view point further up. The ascent was quite scary – the ridge dropped vertically to the left and still quite steeply to the right side. Nevertheless, we climbed at an ant’s crawl and around 45 minutes later we stood on the Kyanjin Ri viewpoint, at 4600 metres. From there we could see the glacier and lake again, but this time from the top. We stayed a long time taking in this amazing view, with only the sound of prayer flags flapping in the wind.

To climb up to the Kyanjin Ri viewpoint that we had seen looming over the village the previous couple of days. Several paths led towards the viewpoint, and we started very motivated. The path wound higher and higher, and got steeper and steeper. When we were there it hadn’t rained for many days and the conditions were very good, but I would not want to climb that path after rain, or even snowfall.

After a climb that seemed much longer than it actually was (and some heart-stopping moments when my daughter stood at the edge of a 100 metre drop!) we arrived at the first viewpoint. In a sea of prayer flags a couple of benches were placed–the perfect spot for a small break. The view from here was already spectacular, and the village down in the valley looked like a toy village. We could see far down the valley, and Tibet seemed only a stone’s throw away.